NEWS FLASH

Rebels Believe Some Syrian Military Deliberately Missing Targets | A Syrian air force pilot this week refused to bomb domestic targets and flew is plane to Jordan where he was granted asylum. And the incident may not be an isolated one. McClatchy reports today that Syrian rebels believe that some units in the country’s military are deliberately missing when they target rebel positions. “Weeks of observation of Syrian military operations while traveling with rebel forces leave the impression that the Syrian army is unfamiliar with modern military tactics,” McClatchy reports, “It rarely engages rebel forces directly and appears instead to rely on poorly aimed and random fire to intimidate its opponents. Helicopters observed in northern and central portions of the country fly at an altitude that prevents their effective tactical employment.” One rebel fighter noted that most helicopter pilots are Sunni and “might be missing intentionally.”